Snack Time

As a part of Andrew's recovery, we need to have him on a very low sodium diet to prevent fluid build up around the pacemaker. Dr. Christian recommended Teddy Grahams as a good snack. She may have had a smaller serving size in mind...

Going Home!!!

On Monday, they sent us home... We were so excited to get back to our "normal" routine, and to our own beds. Andrew was so excited to see all of his toys once we got back, and he slept really well our first night home.

Andrew's first steps post-surgery. He didn't walk for 4 days, so he was quite wobbly and off balance...

At the butterfly garden before we left the hospital.


Yes, the Gabba Gang is still with us...

More Recovery Pictures

On Sunday, they finally let us take Andrew on a wagon ride around the hospital. He was so excited to get out of bed and his room (as were we), so we took him outside to the family garden, and then down to the food court, to the butterfly garden, and to see the big train set. The longer we stayed out, the more he perked up. Once we got back to the room, he was sitting up in bed and playing like his normal self. It was amazing to see what a difference it made to get him out.

Surgery Recovery

We had so many family members and friends that came to wait with us, and it was so great to be surrounded by so much love and support. Dr. Christian finished Andrew's surgery in about an hour. She said that everything went as planned, and that he did great. They were able to send him right to recovery, instead of to the PICU, as previously planned. We were thrilled because that meant that Josh and I could see him immediately. They kept him fairly sedated for the first couple hours, and he woke up only when his pain medication started to wear off. After about five hours in recovery, they finally had a room for us on the cardiac floor. We stayed there for the next three days. Andrew slept the first night in my arms in the rocking chair. For the next two nights, I actually slept in the crib with him, which was much more comfortable for both of us. We were so lucky to have such great nurses who were with us our entire stay (thank you Lisa and Michelle!), and to have Dr. Johns (our cardiologist) on call that weekend. Everyone took such great care of us...

The first night post surgery, sleeping with lovie in the rocking chair.

At about 5:00 in the morning, he finally allowed me to put him in the crib for about an hour.

The second night in Andrew's hospital crib. This is how we spent most of the rest of our hospital stay. As you can see, the Gabba Gang was always with us.

Pre-Surgery Pictures

We arrived at the Children's Hospital at 6:30 this morning. Once we checked in, they called us back to a pre-op room where they ran some routine tests, and gave Andrew a set of adorable hospital pajamas. We sat and watched Yo Gabba Gabba (with all of his Gabba Gang, as you can see from the pictures), and they gave Andrew what they described as "happy juice". It was a medicine to make him very drowsy to ease his separation anxiety. I told the nurses that they need to give that medicine to the parents too! By the time they were ready to take Andrew back to surgery, he looked very loopy, and luckily the guy from anesthesia who carried him looked like a taller version of Josh. Andrew just kept looking at him with his sleepy eyes like, "Are you my Daddy?" It was adorable...

In the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital pajamas with the Gabba Gang.

The Gabba Gang (and Andrew's lovie) actually all went back to surgery with him.

Nice... Andrew discovered his nostrils a couple days ago.

Getting sleepy with the "happy juice"...

Last Pictures without a Pacemaker

Tomorrow will be Andrew's pacemaker surgery. Since he will need to have a pacemaker from now on, we decided to get some pictures of him on his last day without one...

Playing with Flour

Last week at Mother's Day Out, Andrew's class played with flour. His teachers said he loved it, so we decided to try it at home too. We may have a baker on our hands--he had a blast playing in the flour, and both he and the kitchen were covered by the time we finished!

At first he wasn't sure, and he kept looking at his hands...

He quickly caught on though and starting to sweep the flour with his hands, all across the table.

We also used measuring spoons to push the flour around...

Look Mom! I am quite a mess!

Covered head to toe!